taichi: NIGHTFLAME!!
nightflame: AHHHH!!! *falls out of chair* WHAT??
taichi: *innocently* I thought you might want to get started on the second chapter of your story.
nightflame: oh...*rubs head* I guess I could...*wearily climbs back into chair and starts typing*
taichi: and so that she continues writing about sora and me together, I'm going to do the disclaimer for her.
nightflame: *growls angrily* I don't...
taichi: calm down, just type. She doesn't own digimon and isn't making any money off of this so don't bother suing her. Apparently, like every other fanfiction writer, she's broke. Hey nightflame, how about...*goes off on various ways to get him and Sora together*
(' ') denotes thoughts
(~*~) denotes flashback
Chapter 2: breakfast confessions
Sora Takenouchi awoke to the smell of pancakes. 'Pancakes? But Yamato hates American breakfast food' she thought confused. As she sat up in the bed, she immediately noticed something. She had no clue where she was. As she gazed upon the shelves, she saw soccer balls and trophies in various places. 'Soccer balls? Trophies?' Her gaze fell upon a picture frame on the dresser.
It was the same picture she had back home, the one all the original digidestined had. The 8 of them and their digimon friends after they had defeated Apocolymon and before they went home. Smiling, Sora turned and noticed the nightstand on the bed. Upon it sat a picture of Taichi and Agumon. Her memory slowly returned to her as she recalled where she was. She had gone to Taichi's apartment after she and Yamato had that horrible fight. A memory of her and Yamato the night before flashed into her head. Shaking her head to rid herself of those memories, she looked at the other pictures that crowded the nightstand.
A picture of Hikari and Taichi when they were little, a picture of Hikari and her boyfriend, Takeru, and then the picture that took her breath away. She picked it up, looking at it more closely. It was a picture of her and Taichi when they were little; Taichi on the ground with a grimace of pain, a soccer ball to the side, and Sora giving him a kiss on the forehead. She smiled as she recalled that incident.
~*~
"Soccer's really easy Sora! I just kick the ball toward your goal and you kick it toward mine" Taichi assured her. "That's it?" she asked a bit unsure. "That's it!" he said, with his trademark goofy grin. "Okay..." she said. "Here, you can start with the ball" Taichi replied, placing the ball in front of her. Then, he turned and ran down the field a bit. He turned around "Okay, now you--oomph!" As he was running, Sora had kicked the ball. Hard. It flew through the air and hit Tai smack on the head as he turned around. "Omigosh!!" Sora cried as Tai fell down on his butt.
"Ow!!" he cried out. Sora ran over to him. "I'm so sorry Taichi!" she apologized.
"It's okay Sora. It doesn't hurt too much" he replied rubbing his head. "You want me to kiss it and make it all better?" Sora asked innocently. "Huh?" was his reply, a look of pain still on his small face.
Sora leaned over and kissed his forehead. "Better?" she asked. Taichi looked up at her, a bit shocked. Then he smiled. "Yea. Let's play" he said, getting back up.
~*~
"I can't believe he has a picture of that" she mused quietly. "Well, my mom basically had the camera attached to her wrist. I think everything Hikari and I ever did until Hikari turned 6 is documented by camera. I think that's where Hikari gets her passion for photography" a voice rang out from the door. Startled, Sora looked up. Taichi stood there, a goofy grin on his face. "Breakfast is ready whenever you are" he said with a smile before he headed back toward the kitchen.
Sora smiled and carefully put the picture back on the nightstand. Heading toward the washroom, she washed her face and looked in the mirror. Her eyes were still slightly red from all the crying last night, but she felt much better. Drying her face, she went toward the kitchen to join Tai for breakfast.
Sitting down at the table, she found a well-sized breakfast in front of her. "Taichi, you didn't have to make so much food just for because I'm here. I'm not that hungry" A stack of pancakes, eggs, and bacon sat on the kitchen table. Taichi poured two cups of orange juice. "I know, I figured as much. I only made a couple extra pancakes than I usually do" Sora looked at him amazed.
"And exactly how many pancakes do you usually eat in the morning?" she asked incredulously, as he sat down and put a couple of pancakes on his plate.
"Uhm" he thought as poured syrup on and cut into the pancakes, "Maybe around 5?" he answered, as he shoveled the food into his mouth. Sora stared at him shocked before she smiled. "I see your appetite hasn't changed since we were last in the digital world" She lifted a couple pancakes onto her plate and poured some syrup on them.
"No, they haven't" he answered cheerily. "But my cooking has become a lot better!" Sora laughed joyfully when a realization hit her. Abruptly, she stopped laughing and the smile on her face faded. "Sora?" Tai stopped eating and looked up at her. "What's wrong?" A look of concern crossed his face.
'I shouldn't tell him' Sora thought frantically. 'If I'm not happy, it's no one's business' thought faltered when she looked at Taichi's anxious face. She tried to force a smile but instead words forced themselves out of her mouth. "I just haven't laughed in a long time"
"Why not?" Taichi looked at her worriedly. Sora looked away. 'I can't tell him. What does it say if the guardian of love is unable to have a relationship?' "It's nothing Tai" she said softly, staring at the table. "Really, It's nothing" 'I will not break down at the breakfast table' she scolded herself. 'This is something I'll work out alone...all alone' she thought bitterly.
Taichi looked at Sora. She was hiding something. "Sora..." he said softly. "Please..." he said imploringly. Slowly, Sora looked up and looked Taichi in the eyes. As she looked into his worried chocolate eyes, she could feel herself breaking. He always had that effect on her. She tried valiantly to resist the urge to throw herself into his arms and confess everything. Instead she gripped the side of her chair tightly.
"It's nothing" she said tightly, trying to convince him and herself at the same time. Taichi simply looked at her, his eyes expressing everything. "Sora..." he repeated helplessly. She stared into eyes, feeling all walls of resistance breaking. She wanted to look away but she knew she couldn't. Slowly, without breaking eye contact, Taichi got up and walked over to the other side of the table. He stopped next to Sora. Silently, he pulled her out of her seat. Gently, he pulled her into a hug.
"Sora" he said, his voice racked with emotion, "I hate seeing you hurting like this. Please...please, just tell me what's wrong. Tell me what I can do to help" he whispered. Sora, at first, stiffened at the soft embrace. However, she felt herself melting into him. "Oh Tai" she whispered. She buried her face into his shoulder. "It hurts so much" And she cried. And he simply held her.
Later that afternoon, Sora sat on Taichi's couch, watching television. He had left an hour ago for his class, despite his protests that he could miss one if she needed him. She sent him off, reassuring him that she'd be fine. She felt as if a huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders. She had confessed everything to Tai; how her relationship with Yamato seemed to be failing; his accusations that she was in love with someone else. He had simply held her and listened, saying nothing. When she finished, he gave her a gentle hug and reassured her that she could stay at his place as long as she needed, or if she preferred, he could call Hikari and she could stay with her.
Sora had opted to stay with him. Everything in her apartment just reminded her too much of Yamato. As she thought back to that decision, she didn't know why she just didn't decide to stay at Hikari's. 'Maybe because I don't want to interrupt her life. She's so busy, with photography, school, and Takeru' Sora used those reasons to convince herself that if it wasn't for those factors, she would have stayed with Hikari.
However, the real reason she stayed, she refused to admit to herself. She denied it and wouldn't allow herself to even listen to the silent, nagging voice told her why she decided to stay with Taichi. 'You're falling for him again' it told her. Refusing to consider it, she abruptly stood up. "I should clean Taichi's apartment for him" she stated to the empty room. Looking around she nodded. "His eating habits haven't changed since he was 15. Neither has his cleaning habits- he has none" Grabbing some cleaning materials, she absorbed herself into her work.
When Taichi came back from his class, he did a double take, and checked the number on the door again. "Wow" he whistled quietly. The apartment was...well, it was clean. The golf clubs that had been thrown carelessly on the floor before had been picked up and was sitting neatly near the door. And the floor...well, apparently, he had a brown wooden floor. He didn't want to put his bag down; he was afraid he'd mess up the apartment. Carefully, he took off his shoes and put on his slippers. As he passed by the kitchen he stopped and stared. Spotless. "Sora?" he called out. He made his way into the living room, where Sora sat at the table, absorbed in what she as doing. Walking over, he looked over her shoulder. She was drawing clothes. "Sora?" he called out again. "Ah!" she exclaimed, jumping in fright. "Taichi!! Don't sneak up on me!"
He laughed. "Never thought you'd go into fashion designing" he said teasingly.
"Hey, you cut your hair, anything's possible" she replied, a smile in her eyes and on her face. He grinned and plopped down on the couch. He sighed happily and closed his eyes. "Taichi?" she looked at him anxiously. "What's up? Did something happen?" Suddenly, Taichi threw up his arms and legs and waved them joyously. "I'M FREE!!!!" he yelled in a blissful voice.
"Free?" Sora asked confused. "What do you mean?"
"My paper. I finished" he answered happily. "What paper? The one I saw on your laptop last night?" He nodded in affirmation.
"But...but I thought you weren't done with that"
"I wasn't when you came" he explained. "After you fell asleep, the tea kept me awake and I finished it. So for the next couple weeks I don't have to worry about it"
"Just weeks? You're not done with it?"
Taichi sat up straight and looked at her. "No, during the next couple weeks, my professor looks over it. After that time, I either get a grade or I get the paper back" he shuddered at that thought. "If you get it back, that means it has some major unanswered questions. Basically, you end up writing it again" Sora looked at him in amusement. "Has that happened to you?"
"Not yet" he replied and smiled. "I hope it never does" Sora smiled and opened her mouth to comment when the phone rang. Taichi walked over and picked it up.
"Moshi moshi" Sora listened to his half of the conversation. "Hey there! How are you doing? ... I'm doing alright ... What? ... well, uhm ... not exactly ... well, I've been busy ... yes I know ... no, no I don't ... okay ... okay ... calm down! I won't ruin the wedding ... No, I won't show up in a t-shirt and jeans ... okay I will ... yes, today ... right now ... I'm going, I promise ... okay ... I'll talk to you later ... bye" he hung up the phone wearily. "Oy vey" Sora raised her eyebrow and looked at him. He looked at Sora. "What?"
"Who was that?"
"Hikari. She was calling to make sure I was ready for Miyako and Ken's wedding"
"What do you mean, ready?"
"Well, uhm, I sort of have to get a suit" Sora looked at him incredulously. "As ambassador to the digital world, shouldn't you already have a suit?"
"As I keep reminding all of you, as of yet, there is no relations with the 'foreign' digital world. And I'm not an ambassador yet"
"The wedding is in two weeks Tai"
"So? Can't I buy one the weekend before?" Sora shot him a look. "Uhm okay, I won't. Besides, I told Hikari that I'd go get one today" he sighed. "Shopping is evil" he stated simply. Sora giggled. "Don't worry Tai. I'll help you find the perfect suit"
Taichi sighed. "Why do people insist on finding the 'perfect' suit? Why can't an ordinary one do?" Sora laughed and got up. "C'mon Taichi" she tugged at his arm. "I know a great place to get you a suit" He looked at her with a mischievous look in his eyes. "Why don't you just design me one?" Sora stopped and considered the idea before she shook her head. "You could never afford my fees" she replied smiling. "C'mon, let's go shopping!!" she said gleefully, dragging a reluctant Taichi after her.
nightflame: hmmm, not bad. I actually got two chapters done.
taichi: you had her take me shopping??
nightflame: what? It's not that bad.
taichi: well, if you're going to make her take me shopping, I think you should put my idea into your story.
nightflame: *exasperated* taichi, how would you confessing your feelings to her on a riverboat in Italy make sense in this story?
taichi: hey, it's a fanfiction. Anything's possible.
nightflame: no.
taichi: okay fine. How about I pay someone to write my feelings for her in skywriting?
nightflame: no
taichi: how about...
nightflame: taichi!! No! I have the entire story planned out in my head already. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, it'll get more interesting, I promise. Here's something for you readers to ponder. Who's Sora going to go to the wedding with?
taichi: what do you mean?
nightflame: well, no one besides Tai at the moment know about Sora and Yamato's...relational problems. Is she going to make them public?
taichi: now really, I think that you should have Sora just dump Yamato and stay with me.
nightflame: now, that wouldn't be much of a story would it? Now be silent or I'll sic Icefall on you.
taichi: you know what you could do?
nightflame: taichi, I don't want to hear it. Anyway, review!! Leave something for Taichi to read while I'm typing away. Maybe it'll stop making him give me suggestions if he has something to do. *hint*hint*nudge*nudge* aight ja ne!
